Johnny Manziel Faced Suspension, Kevin Sumlin Helped Him Appeal

Before the 2012 season, Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel, aka Johnny Football, was facing a season-long suspension. Of course he burst onto the scene in 2012 and won the Heisman Trophy, awarded to college football’s best player. The suspension was the result of a far fight last summer and possession of a fake ID.

“They banned me from athletics and from my scholarships,” Manziel said, according to Texas Monthly. “I had worked hard, and done everything Coach Sumlin asked me to do, and then they told me I couldn’t play anymore.”

“We were shocked. If they’re going to do that, we’re fixing to have to transfer him to a junior college to get him to play,” Manziel’s mother Michelle told the magazine.

New Aggies coach Kevin Sumlin came to the rescue and helped Manziel appeal the suspension.

“A lot has been said about discipline, but he went through all that, which is a little bit more than people think,” Sumlin said, according to NewsOK.com. “That’s not a public deal, it’s just what I ask him to do. He did all those things, and his parents were involved in all of that. So for him to go through that, then go through camp and those types of things and earn the job, that’s what’s brought him to where he is now.”

The suspension was of course overturned, he then won the starting job, led the Aggies to an 11-2 season and a Cotton Bowl win over the Oklahoma Sooners. This summer hasn’t been free from controversy for the star quarterback. He tweeted about his displeasure with College Station. Apparently the tweet was Manziel venting his frustration about a parking ticket.

“Like I said before, [Manziel] is still himself, and he has made some mistakes and he knows that. That’s part of growing up,” Sumlin said. “I think, like I’ve said before, we’ve got a support process that’s in place for him and his family, and I know that ever since summer school started he has been back hard at work, and he’s happy to be back with his teammates.”